GERMANY

Rail company Alstom unveiled a train powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Scheduled to begin service as early as 2018, the emissions-free train can carry 300 passengers and travel at speeds as fast as 140 kilometers per hour.

CANADA

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a minimum tax on carbon emissions of $7.62 per metric ton. The tax is set to begin in 2018 and will increase to $38.11 per metric ton by 2022.

ANTARCTICA

Twenty-five nations reached an agreement that has created the world's largest marine sanctuary off the coast of Antarctica. First proposed in 2011, it covers 598,000 square miles of ocean.

INDIA

Farmers and environmentalists submitted a petition protesting the Indian government's approval of mustard plants that have been genetically modified (GM) to tolerate herbicides. The protesters worry the strain will benefit only seed sellers and that herbicides could displace rural workers in charge of manual weeding. Mustard would be the first GM food crop in the country.

AUSTRALIA

Paleontologists discovered a new species of dinosaur, Savannasaurus elliottorum, in Queensland. The 12- to 15-meter-long sauropod lived on the continent an estimated 95 million to 98 million years ago. Dinosaur remnants on the giant island are rare: in total, no more than 12 skeletons and a handful of single bones have been found.

This article was originally published with the title "Quick Hits" in Scientific American 316, 1, 20 (January 2017)

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